MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Alamy.com => Topic started by: Alatriste on September 10, 2008, 12:45

Title: At last my first sale
Post by: Alatriste on September 10, 2008, 12:45
It took me a lot of time but I did it finally... 165$ comission.

Cleared balance is still 0. Do I need to wait until the money is available?

I didnt worry about alamy payments since now. I have read that there are 2 ways cheque or bank transfer. No paypal :(
Wich one is the best way? (I imagine that I would have to pay a comission to my bank)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Alatriste on September 10, 2008, 12:53
I have realised that I have to reach 250$ first  :D
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: j2k on September 10, 2008, 13:24
Congratulations :) So if it goes well just one more sale to go before payout.

We sure would like to see the lucky photo :)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: astrocady on September 10, 2008, 13:25
Congratulations, Trebuchet!  That's a nice sale  ;)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Alatriste on September 10, 2008, 13:29
Not a spectacular one
http://www.alamy.com/image-details-popup.asp?Imageid={F1BBC9CB-2FAF-470F-9C7B-EA3707B602DA} (http://www.alamy.com/image-details-popup.asp?Imageid={F1BBC9CB-2FAF-470F-9C7B-EA3707B602DA})
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: nativelight on September 10, 2008, 16:02
Excellent!  More and more I'm thinking of dropping microstock and putting everything I have on Alamy and whatever I can get approved at PSC.  I'm pretty fed up with inconsistent reviewing on the micros.  However, I do like the instant gratification of seeing sales everyday even though they're minute compared to Alamy sales.  :D

Stunning image or not, it was worth a fair amount in the buyer's eyes!
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: designalldone on September 10, 2008, 16:40
Nice photo - love the little rainbow on the screen.

That's got to be a pretty good ego boost getting $165 for one photo!  ;D
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Stu99 on September 17, 2008, 16:17
Just got my first sale at Alamy :-)

I started uploading a few weeks ago with still only a fairly small number of images there. I sold an image for a calendar inside page for up to 50,000 copies. The sale was $400 and after $120 commission and $20 account fee, my payment was $260.

After the demise of the Photoshelter Collection I still have hopes for some consistent sales at Alamy. If you are thinking about sending some images that way, my advice would be to do so :-)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: litifeta on September 17, 2008, 16:59
Excellent. Wish I could get accepted.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: PaulieWalnuts on September 17, 2008, 19:47
Excellent!  More and more I'm thinking of dropping microstock and putting everything I have on Alamy and whatever I can get approved at PSC.  I'm pretty fed up with inconsistent reviewing on the micros.  However, I do like the instant gratification of seeing sales everyday even though they're minute compared to Alamy sales.  :D

Stunning image or not, it was worth a fair amount in the buyer's eyes!

Not so sure I'd be dumping micros for Alamy. I saw quite a few posts over there that $1 per image per year is a good rule of thumb for earnings. I'm sure a lot of people make more but that's not real promising if that's accurate. It's also probably why submitters over there say you need a few thousand images to start seeing decent results. Micros seem to average about $1 per image per month.

Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: epantha on September 17, 2008, 19:57
Quote
Not so sure I'd be dumping micros for Alamy. I saw quite a few posts over there that $1 per image per year is a good rule of thumb for earnings. I'm sure a lot of people make more but that's not real promising if that's accurate. It's also probably why submitters over there say you need a few thousand images to start seeing decent results. Micros seem to average about $1 per image per month.

I've been thinking about just this situation. I was focusing a lot of energy uploading to Photoshelter and Alamy for awhile, giving them some of my best shots, but then Photoshelter went down and there have been no sales on Alamy for months. So what makes sense? I should be focusing my best efforts on the agencies that are making me money NOW, which is IS mainly and DT, FT and SS secondarily. I will continue to upload photos to Alamy to build a portfolio there when I have the extra time or inclination.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: epixx on September 17, 2008, 23:43
Micros plus Alamy is a perfect combination. I mostly upload editorial RM to Alamy, but also some more or less unique RF photos.

Had my first sale at Alamy yesterday btw., after almost a year there. The sale was $524 and $336 to me after commission and fees, so it was worth the wait   :)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: borg on September 18, 2008, 03:34
Is it possible to open RM account like Alamy if you have some RF accounts open!?

I heard that they don't want anybody with RF accounts...
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: epixx on September 18, 2008, 05:38
Is it possible to open RM account like Alamy if you have some RF accounts open!?

I heard that they don't want anybody with RF accounts...

You've heard wrong. You can also sell RF as well as RM at Alamy, and obviously RF anywhere else. What you can not do, is sell images as RM at Alamy if they are sold as RF elsewhere, but that's standard procedure for all agencies.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: borg on September 18, 2008, 14:02
Thanks!
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: lilcrazyfuzzy on September 19, 2008, 11:10
Micros plus Alamy is a perfect combination. I mostly upload editorial RM to Alamy, but also some more or less unique RF photos.

Had my first sale at Alamy yesterday btw., after almost a year there. The sale was $524 and $336 to me after commission and fees, so it was worth the wait   :)

awesome, congrats!
still waiting for that first sale, while uploading and uploading, luckily their reviews are quick
how large is your portfolio after 1 year?
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: epixx on September 19, 2008, 12:44
awesome, congrats!
still waiting for that first sale, while uploading and uploading, luckily their reviews are quick
how large is your portfolio after 1 year?

480... 500 from tomorrow, but most of them are uploaded the last 6 months. Hopefully, I'll reach 2-3,000 within the next 12 months   :)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: cappi on September 28, 2008, 21:29
Excellent!  More and more I'm thinking of dropping microstock and putting everything I have on Alamy and whatever I can get approved at PSC.  I'm pretty fed up with inconsistent reviewing on the micros.  However, I do like the instant gratification of seeing sales everyday even though they're minute compared to Alamy sales.  :D

Stunning image or not, it was worth a fair amount in the buyer's eyes!

Not so sure I'd be dumping micros for Alamy. I saw quite a few posts over there that $1 per image per year is a good rule of thumb for earnings. I'm sure a lot of people make more but that's not real promising if that's accurate. It's also probably why submitters over there say you need a few thousand images to start seeing decent results. Micros seem to average about $1 per image per month.



A pro at Alamy posted a few days ago that he earned over $24,000 with a port of 500 photos on ALamy during the last 12 months. One sale was for $8000 He said they weren't his best pics.  Getty gets those.  I'd like to know what he made on Getty.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Fran on September 29, 2008, 02:27
A pro at Alamy posted a few days ago that he earned over $24,000 with a port of 500 photos on ALamy during the last 12 months. One sale was for $8000 He said they weren't his best pics.  Getty gets those.  I'd like to know what he made on Getty.

Weird. I thought Getty asked for exclusivity.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: cappi on September 29, 2008, 04:56
A pro at Alamy posted a few days ago that he earned over $24,000 with a port of 500 photos on ALamy during the last 12 months. One sale was for $8000 He said they weren't his best pics.  Getty gets those.  I'd like to know what he made on Getty.

Weird. I thought Getty asked for exclusivity.

He has different exclusive pics on Getty. 

Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Fran on September 29, 2008, 05:14

He has different exclusive pics on Getty. 



Got it, thanks :)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: lilcrazyfuzzy on October 02, 2008, 17:09
A pro at Alamy posted a few days ago that he earned over $24,000 with a port of 500 photos on ALamy during the last 12 months. One sale was for $8000 He said they weren't his best pics.  Getty gets those.  I'd like to know what he made on Getty.

Any chance for a link? I missed that thread
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: cappi on October 03, 2008, 17:12
http://www.alamy.com/forums/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=3065

Don Farrall's post on page 4 of the thread.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Fran on December 08, 2008, 07:02
Had my first RM sale today for 90$ to a national newspaper in UK, few months short of my goal (first RM sale within a year since I held my first camera, which was in Feb). I have about 130 images online.
Can't hide that it really feels good. Still a long way to making 24.000$ a year but it's a start :D
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: PaulieWalnuts on December 08, 2008, 07:27
Congrats Fran. I haven't made a sale yet but I only have 30 images over there.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: goldenangel on December 08, 2008, 11:27
Congratulations Fran! :)
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: madelaide on December 08, 2008, 16:21
Congrats, Fran. This is very exciting.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Sophia on December 08, 2008, 16:26
Well done! ;D
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: traveler1116 on December 08, 2008, 20:43
Do you guys upload the same images on the Micros that you do at Alamy for RF,  obviously not RM?
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: madelaide on December 08, 2008, 20:56
Do you guys upload the same images on the Micros that you do at Alamy for RF,  obviously not RM?


We should make this a sticky thread!  ;D

This has been discussed in many other threads already, such as these three:
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=6311.0
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=5738.0
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=5092.0

Many people do, many people don't and won't do. Alamy doesn't say you can not do it, I think it's up to you to do it or not.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: RacePhoto on December 09, 2008, 00:39

Why would someone want to sell the same photo for 39 cents that they can sell for $150 and at the same time risk that the buyer will see it on the micro site and buy it there instead? Why would someone risk the buyer finding it on micro and being mighty upset that they just payed $200 when they could buy it on demand on a micro for $5. Then they return the photo to Alamy, and say they didn't use it, and go buy the same for $5.

How much is you name and reputation worth? A few dollars in micro sales?

Some do it, some think it's unethical and bad business to sell the identical product it two markets for such wide differences in price.

You get a flat tire and go to the store, because need to replace it. You get a new one for $66. The next day you drive past a different shop and see the same tire size and brand for $22, the manufacturers list price. How unhappy would you be that the first place just ripped you off.

Is it somehow different if you are a buyer getting stung for four times the price for the identical product, but alright to do that to someone else, charging 40 times the price, when you are the seller?

Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: e-person on December 09, 2008, 05:08
It's not the same.

I will be short: size, licence, RF. Check differences, before going on with this microstock vs Alamy debate.

Besides, Alamy is very much overrated, you need thousands of photos to make yearly sales at the level of hundreds on microstock. But of course RM editorial (travel, sports, etc) is better suited to Alamy rather than micros.

Also, come on, people asking how to pass QC on Alamy! I would not call them photographers...
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Microbius on December 09, 2008, 07:26
It's not the same.

I will be short: size, licence, RF. Check differences, before going on with this microstock vs Alamy debate.

Besides, Alamy is very much overrated, you need thousands of photos to make yearly sales at the level of hundreds on microstock. But of course RM editorial (travel, sports, etc) is better suited to Alamy rather than micros.

Also, come on, people asking how to pass QC on Alamy! I would not call them photographers...


Agreed. Case closed
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: hali on December 09, 2008, 08:28

Why would someone want to sell the same photo for 39 cents that they can sell for $150 and at the same time risk that the buyer will see it on the micro site and buy it there instead? Why would someone risk the buyer finding it on micro and being mighty upset that they just payed $200 when they could buy it on demand on a micro for $5. Then they return the photo to Alamy, and say they didn't use it, and go buy the same for $5.

How much is you name and reputation worth? A few dollars in micro sales?

Some do it, some think it's unethical and bad business to sell the identical product it two markets for such wide differences in price.

You get a flat tire and go to the store, because need to replace it. You get a new one for $66. The next day you drive past a different shop and see the same tire size and brand for $22, the manufacturers list price. How unhappy would you be that the first place just ripped you off.

Is it somehow different if you are a buyer getting stung for four times the price for the identical product, but alright to do that to someone else, charging 40 times the price, when you are the seller?



i am in total agreement with you . but obviously not everyone sees it the same as us too.
as adelaide said, it's up to you.
i suppose the final say will be the buyer, as maybe in the short run the sales of both alamy and micro of the same image may be rewarding, until like you said, they find out it was actually obtainable at peanut prices at micro. then, the consequence would be drastic.
unless, the same contributor uses a different name on micro , and alamy.
which could bring up yet another topic: is that honest?



Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: Microbius on December 09, 2008, 10:34

i am in total agreement with you . but obviously not everyone sees it the same as us too.
as adelaide said, it's up to you.
i suppose the final say will be the buyer, as maybe in the short run the sales of both alamy and micro of the same image may be rewarding, until like you said, they find out it was actually obtainable at peanut prices at micro. then, the consequence would be drastic.
unless, the same contributor uses a different name on micro , and alamy.
which could bring up yet another topic: is that honest?


Yes, yes it is
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: RacePhoto on December 09, 2008, 13:16

i am in total agreement with you . but obviously not everyone sees it the same as us too.
as adelaide said, it's up to you.
i suppose the final say will be the buyer, as maybe in the short run the sales of both alamy and micro of the same image may be rewarding, until like you said, they find out it was actually obtainable at peanut prices at micro. then, the consequence would be drastic.
unless, the same contributor uses a different name on micro , and alamy.
which could bring up yet another topic: is that honest?


Yes, yes it is

I understand, and I'm just making my case from my personal viewpoint. I also believe that people can make their own choices and decisions. Maybe better said as, are free to and should make their own decisions. Done deal, I spoke my mind.  ;D

Since everything but a few images on Alamy are Editorial for me, I don't have any conflict of interest. Life is simple.

Yes I use the same name, but that's only because I was too stupid to come up with a classy pseudo for micro in the first place.  ::) I'm vain and want people who use my editorial photos from Alamy to have my name on them, not credited an anonymous pseudonym. As some people have mentioned, having your name seen can sometimes lead to more work.

Alamy Contract: "2.2 You cannot submit identical or similar images to Alamy as both Royalty-Free and Rights Managed. The licence type on Alamy for an image must be the same as the licence type for that image and similar images which you have on other agency websites."
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: ChrisRabior on December 21, 2008, 19:45
Something to keep in mind about Alamy is that buyers can get their money refunded.  If you spent 8,000 on an image (which someone just did for an image of a castle in England) and then found that same image for a few bucks on a micro, how quick would you be refunding your 8k?  Pretty easy why you wouldn't want to offer those images at RF and RM.

As far as Alamy, I've had 7 sales for a nice total of about $1200 in under a year with a relatively small portfolio (500 images)..and an average of one sale for every 10 zooms.  Not a bad way to go.  Beats . out of anything I ever got out of the microstocks, and should be even more lucrative once I actually get off my butt and upload the rest of my collection.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: stock shooter on December 21, 2008, 23:29
For the record, I have been averaging about 1 sale per month per 1000 images on Alamy. in 2007 I netted $2600 from 2000 images, will be less this year. Not expensive production shots, no amazing travel, just pretty simple but unique conceptual still life's and some local location and landscape images. Alamy is just barely worth the effort and no way would I drop the micros for Alamy. As far as Don Farrall is concerned, two points. One: a lot of his stuff (not all granted, but a lot) is pretty slick production stuff, after all he is a 20 year veteran pro photographer. Second, and perhaps most important, his images are listed with an agency on Alamy, Photodisk. Alamy provides higher ranks to agencies. So decent (money spent) production images that show up on the first pages of searches, no wonder. Even if someone does produce equally good images, unless you're listed with an agency you wont land that high in the searches on Alamy.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: cappi on December 22, 2008, 09:08
He doesn't get a higher rank because he's involved with an agency.  He has a high CTR rate because of accurate minimal keywording of images with a combination of excellent images that sell which is a perfect recipe for a high Alamy Rank.

I have images on Alamy that are placed higher in searches versus people who are listed with agencies like photodisc.  My CTR rate is only like 1.6%.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: stock shooter on December 22, 2008, 10:45
Alamy has stated that they afford higher ranking to agencies. Most people who have had images with Alamy for a while and read the related forums know this. I'm not saying keywords don't make a big difference, along with minimal similar keyworded images, good keywords can place higher than an agency listing with poor keywords. But all things being equal, the agency listing will rank an image higher.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: e-person on December 22, 2008, 10:56

As far as Alamy, I've had 7 sales for a nice total of about $1200 in under a year with a relatively small portfolio (500 images)..and an average of one sale for every 10 zooms.  Not a bad way to go.  Beats . out of anything I ever got out of the microstocks, and should be even more lucrative once I actually get off my butt and upload the rest of my collection.

I made that, on microstock, in one year, with 250 photos. If I had 500 photos on microstock, I would have made double that, so I am either better than you, or Alamy is rubbish. You tell me. I am fine with both.  ;D
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: PeterChigmaroff on December 22, 2008, 11:15


I made that, on microstock, in one year, with 250 photos. If I had 500 photos on microstock, I would have made double that, so I am either better than you, or Alamy is rubbish. You tell me. I am fine with both.  ;D


It is neither, actually.  I find Alamy, for the  most part, sells a lot more editorial style image than the micros do. Most of my images that sell on Alamy wouldn't be on a micro site.
Title: Re: At last my first sale
Post by: cappi on December 22, 2008, 12:45
D